Wedding Web Sites

After I posted yesterday, I looked at it again and decided I really liked that little graphic at the bottom. I think maybe I should use that in all future wedding posts...kind of as a "warning" that the post is wedding related. That way, for those of you who aren't into the wedding thing can skip past and look for something non-wedding related. Yeah, like I'll post anything non-wedding related anytime soon... (smirk) Too late! You're all in my evil wedding-related clutches now! Mwuhahahahahaahahahahahaaaaaaaa.......

Okay, that sounded a lot more dramatic (and evil) in my head.

It may seem a little strange that a 40 year old woman on her second marriage is getting so into the whole wedding planning thing. I blame it on the internet. Yes, the internet. Do you know how many wedding related web sites there are out there? Especially ones with message boards where you can talk to other brides-to-be and get opinions, advice, suggestions....snark. It sucks you in, I swear.

One of the more popular things these days is DIY. Yes, as in "Do It Yourself". I'll admit I bought my wedding invitations at a craft store and printed them myself, then spent a whole night meticulously peeling & sticking little adhesive dots & aligning ribbon. But some of these brides are SERIOUS DIY'ers. They make their own aisle runners, place cards, card boxes, veils, hair pieces, invitations, favors, candle holders, bouquets, centerpieces...you get the idea. It all sounds very inspiring, but do I have the time (not to mention the energy) to do all of this? And boy, do some of these girls make you feel guilty if you aren't doing all of the extra little details. It can drive a person crazy. My favorite quote is from one of the ladies over on the "Second Weddings" board on The Knot:

"And every day there's a new post in which Suzy Homemaker bride is DIY'ing her hand monogrammed napkin rings made from all the movie tickets she and her fiance have ever seen together with the couples' reviews of the movies typed, laminated and tucked inside with gold plated embossed signature logos on them!!!"

And the acronyms? FI, FMIL, RD, BM, MOH, GM, WC, STD... (Anyone care to guess what all of those mean? Go ahead, I dare you. Leave your guesses in the comments.) Do you know how frightening it was to go on a wedding web site and see all of these women posting messages about whether or not they should do STD's??! Yikes!

What I'm learning mostly is this....it's our wedding. If we choose to thumb our noses at tradition and have our wedding in a really cool restaurant instead of a 100 year old cathedral church or at the hottest country club, so be it. If I think sunflowers would look awesome at a wedding, regardless of the fact that it will be winter and 31 degrees outside, who cares? What?!! I'm not having a Maid of Honor and he's not having a Best Man?? And we're not having an exactly matching number of bridesmaids and groomsmen?? Pfffffft! Another great quote from one of the gals on the "Second Weddings" board, and kind of a motto for everyone there: "Do what makes your heart happy." Yeah....my heart is pretty damn happy....

We interrupt your normally scheduled program...

Yes, it's been awhile...I think I blogged enough during that 30 day thing to make up for the rest of the year, lol. But the real reason I haven't blogged lately is because I've been pretty busy. Changes abound in our household! Here's the latest update...most of you know all of this already, but I'm just putting it all out there to get everyone up to speed. If you have to ask, you probably don't know me that well:

Randy is now living in Idaho. He made it out here in November with his oldest son Zach in tow, who wanted to "start over" away from the lifestyle he had gotten used to out in North Carolina. His younger son, Trevor, was living with Collin & I already so he could start school at the beginning of the year and not have to transfer to a new school in the middle of the semester. So now our household consists of myself, Randy, Collin (16), Zach (18), Trevor (15), my two dogs Rowdy & Zoe, and Randy's dog Roxie. Oh...and let's not forget the cow.... So my life has been busy getting everyone all settled in, rearranging rooms, making room for everyone's storage, getting used to new routines, etc.

(Trevor, Zach & Randy on the night Randy & Zach arrived)

Another reason my life has been busy lately is because now that Randy is out here, we've decided to get married. People will have their opinions, and I say let them have them. I'm 40 years old, I know what I want out of life, and I'm done playing dating games. Actually that pretty much goes for both of us...except that Randy is 39, not 40. (He's quick to remind me, lol.) We're both very happy, our kids are happy (or as happy as teenagers can be) and everyone gets along (for now.) Sure, with 3 boys in the house between the ages of 15 & 18 there's going to be testosterone overload now & then. I'm learning to deal with it. We've made sure we keep the lines of communication open and not let things fester. We plan to have "family meetings" on a regular basis (once a week of possible, maybe twice a month more realistically) so everyone can air out their opinions, etc. and we can get everyone's schedules coordinated.("The boys" relaxing out on a fence in the pasture)

All this brings me to a warning...if you don't want to hear the mad ravings of a 40 year old bride-to-be who is planning a wedding that's rapidly approaching and dealing with venues, officiants, florists, bakers, family, teenagers and a fiance....you might want to turn this channel off for awhile. Because this is pretty much going to turn into the wedding channel for the next couple of months. Don't get me wrong--I'm no Bridezilla...but having to plan something like this can make any sane person a little temporary insane. I welcome opinions, suggestions, help, etc. and would love to hear from anyone who wants to chime in on any of my wedding subjects.
You've been warned...

The Relay Begins...

From the official 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games website:

"On 12 November 2008, the Special Olympics Flame of Hope will be lit in Athens, Greece to commence a three-month journey across five continents to delivering hope, courage and inspiration to Special Olympics athletes worldwide.

The flame will stop in 10 cities around the world and transported more than 60,000 kilometers (37,000 miles) by DHL, the Official Transporter of the Flame of Hope for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. At each stop the Flame will be carried by teams of law enforcement personnel, Special Olympic athletes and volunteers.

On 28 January 2009 the Flame of Hope will reach Idaho, USA, and begin the Final Leg of the Global Law Enforcement Torch Run. It will reach Boise, Idaho on 7 February 2009 and be used to light the Cauldron to mark the official beginning of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games."

People may think I'm weird, but I am so proud that Idaho is hosting these world games. Boise and the surrounding area will be host to approximately 2,800 athletes, coaches & delegates from 100 countries. Yeah, it's not the regular Olympics, but these athletes train just as hard, if not harder, just to play in these games.

It's kind of soft spot in my heart because when I was young (I think around 10 or so) my mother signed up herself, me and my sister to volunteer with the Special Olympics being held at that time in Long Beach. I don't remember if it was regional games or what, but it was pretty big. During the opening ceremonies, when we were marching around the Millikan High School track with the athletes, the excitement was contagious. I remember an athlete who was probably high school age and the two of us talked the entire time we were marching around that track, about cartoons. At my age, I thought it was the coolest thing that this older person knew SO much about cartoons, lol. I also remember how loud everyone clapped & cheered when the races/competitions were over. It didn't matter if an athlete was a winner or the last one to cross the finish line--everyone clapped just as loudly for every one of them.

To this day, I'm glad my mom signed us up for that. It taught me humility and tolerance. When other kids at school made fun of kids who were mentally challenged, I didn't join in. Because I had seen these athletes and knew they were awesome competitors in everything they did & put forth more effort than a lot of people I knew.

Let the relay begin!!

Possibly one of the cutest tattoos EVER!!

I ran across this on the Cute Overload blog and almost "squeeeed" out loud when I saw it! Brought back memories of being a kid and the anticipation building as I neared the end of a dot-to-dot puzzle. Guessing all along what it was and usually being right when I finished, lol. The really good ones kept you guessing though...

Did you NOT see the big door in the mirror??

Alas, my poor Scarlett has had her first mishap...and it wasn't even with me behind the wheel! My darling son (said in a sickeningly sweet way to try to override the urge to choke the living daylights out of him) borrowed my car last night so that he & Trevor could get out of the house for a little while and give me some down time to watch a movie & relax.
I had just sat down in the living room when I heard an odd thud noise from the garage. I knew it couldn't be good. I rushed out to the garage to see Collin looking very surprised and the garage door partway open. He pulled forward as I opened the garage door. When I made my way to the back of my car, (Collin saying the entire time "I swear it had opened!") I saw a lot of white paint from the garage on the back of the car right around the handle to open the back upper hatch. I immediately unleashed a tirade on my son and asked how he could manage to back into the garage door. He tried to explain that it was totally an accident (DUH) and that he swore the door was open. He said he was looking in the rear view mirror when he backed out. I yelled at him, "Didn't you see the big garage door looming in the mirror when you looked in it??!!" He claims he didn't. (I'm actually wondering if he was looking in one of the side mirrors and from that lower vantage point the door looked open.)
He's actually lucky that I didn't take a really good look at it until this morning after I got to work and it was light outside. Because underneath that paint (and probably scratches) was a nice sized dent. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!!!!


You can tell where the dent is by the way the reflection of the ground looks like there's a big hill behind me. That should be a straight line. Anyone know a good body shop guy? A cheap one?